1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to fishing line attached bodies and more particularly to weights and diving planes for releasable downrigger trolling systems.
2. Prior Art
A wide variety of sinkers and other devices have been proposed for submerging a lure or bait, while trolling, to a desired depth. For fishing in still water, a light weight suffices. For low speed shallow trolling, somewhat heavier weights are still adequate. However, for high speed trolling (3 to 5 miles per hour) at greater depths, for example, in ocean salmon fishing, substantially greater weights must be used.
Because of the difficulty of playing a fish with such weights connected directly to the fishing line, downriggers have come into common use for supporting the weight. Typical downriggers are seen in the U.S. patents of Loebensteen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,296; Harsch, U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,331; Rohn, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,079; and Kammeraad, U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,587. Such downriggers are characterized by a boom mounted in the boat, a cable connecting the weight to the boom and a cable reel for dropping and retrieving the weight.
Various types of weights or sinkers have also been used. The simplest are lead or iron "cannonballs" such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,331, weighing as much as twenty-five to thirty pounds. Streamlined sinkers have also been used, as shown in U.S. patents to Fitzsimmons, U.S. Pat. No. 2,749,649; Tozer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,047; and Swanby, U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,458.
Frequently such weights wobble or spin when dragged through the water, thereby increasing drag and rising above their desired depth, or tangling or twisting the fish line or cable. To reduce these problems, various forms of stabilizing fins have been used on sinkers, as shown in the aforementioned patents to Tozer and Swanby; and in Reith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,159.
Such weights commonly have some means of releasing the fish line for playing the fish unencumbered once it is hooked. Numerous line release devices have been proposed. In one type of device the line is releasably held between two jaws, as shown in the aforementioned patents to Fitzsimmons and Reith; and in U.S. Patents to Borchardt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,572 and Ritter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,370. In another type of release device the fish line is wrapped or looped around some portion of the device, and spring tension compresses a second portion against the line until it is tugged free by a fish. The aforementioned patents to Swanby and U.S. Patents to Tucker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,884; Peterson, U.S. Pat No. 3,892,083; and Walker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,920 disclose such devices.
A third group of release devices utilizes two members, the first being attached to the downrigger cable and adapted for releasably holding the second such member, which is attached to the fishing line. Examples of such devices are seen in the U.S. Patents to Baum, U.S. Pat. No. 2,667,008; Brownlee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,688; Emory et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,918; Bissonette, U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,954; Larson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,110; and Cote, U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,958.
Planing devices have also been proposed for submerging the fishing line for high speed trolling. One kind is fixedly connected to the fishing line. Such a device typically has a diving plane and a bridle, the bridle being positioned so that the plane assumes a diving attitude when pulled through the water. The bridle has a release mechanism for neutralizing the diving attitude of the plane when a fish is hooked. Examples of such devices are seen in U.S. patents to Kallberg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,062,718 and Neary, U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,648.
Another diving plane design, shown in the U.S. patent to DeSmidt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,813, is designed for releasable attachment to a downrigger cable and is fixedly attached to the fishing line. The above patent to Tozer, shows a similar device except that the plane is fixedly attached to the downrigger cable and releasably attached to the line.
The only known fishing line submerging device which employs the combination of a weight and a diving plane is that shown in the above patent to Borchardt. Borchardt's trolling planer employs a relatively light weight, less than one pound, to weight the front end of the plane downward at a diving angle of about thirty to sixty degrees from the horizon. As with the other trolling planers, this design tends to wobble when pulled through the water, increasing drag and thereby tending to defeat its purpose: to submerge the fishing lure deep in the water while trolling at approximately three miles per hour.
It would be preferable to be able to submerge the fishing lure or bait deep in the water for high speed trolling without requiring a very large weight. It would also be preferable to have a device that runs smoothly in the water without wobble, spin or excessive drag and which avoids tangling the fish line or cable. Finally, it would be desirable to have a device which would remain submerged and release the fish line for playing the fish relatively unencumbered once it is hooked.